‘Terrorist’ threatened to blow up police station

Court Reporter

A drunken shopkeeper claimed he was a terrorist and was going to blow up Falkirk police station.

Ashen Zafar (46) reportedly lost his temper and began “drunkenly rambling” after his arrest, shouting and swearing at police officers, claiming he was a terrorist and mentioning ISIS during the unpleasant incident.

Appearing at Falkirk Sheriff Court today, Zafar, of Budhill Avenue, Shettleston, admitted to behaving in a threatening and abusive manner at the police station on December 19, 2015 and assaulting his girlfriend at her home in Hillside Grove, Bo’ness, on December 12.

Procurator fiscal depute Ann Orr said Zafar replied after his behaviour was put to him, “I don’t recall that at all”, and apologised to police for what he had done.

The court heard Zafar, a first offender, had been arrested in the first place after police were called to the flat of his girlfriend.

She had an argument with a drunk Zafar and, when he refused to leave her home, she called police and complained to them about an earlier domestic incident, on December 12 last year, in which she alleged her arms had been bruised.

On that occasion he was sober, and had decided to leave to return to his own home in Glasgow, but she wanted him to stay over, and had flung herself across the bonnet of his car to prevent him driving off.

Mrs Orr said: “He grabbed her by both arms and threw her to the ground. He said she was an embarrassment to him, and drove off.”

She added Zafar and the woman had been in a “tempestuous” relationship for about three years.

Murray Aitken, defence solicitor, said Zafar was “genuinely embarrassed and ashamed” and, referring to the incident in the police station, Mr Aitken said Zafar had been “heavily intoxicated”.

He said the references to terrorism, Isis, and blowing the place up had been “drunken, frustrated rambling”.

Mr Aitken said: “When he sobered up he apologised to the officers concerned.”

Mr Aitken said although Zafar lived in Glasgow, his shop was local to the area his girlfriend lived and he was well known in the community.

Sheriff Linda Smith admonished Zafar for assaulting the woman and deferred sentence on the on the other charge to allow him to donate £500 to the Scottish Police Benevolent Fund.

Zafar was given until March 10 to make the payment.

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